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Tuesday Afternoon MASH update

So now Shawn Springs is hurting, too. Not a good start to the preseason for the Redskins. Springs had a "small" tear in his abdominal muscle surgically repaired this morning, and will miss 3-to-6 weeks, but, like Clinton Portis's shoulder problem, this is a tricky injury.

Springs is Washington's only elite cornerback, someone who opposing QBs don't want to test, and with him out they will surely pick on second-year corner Carlos Rogers, who had an up and down rookie season. You want your corners to run free and easy, to have that explosive push-off and ample recovery speed; we'll see how it goes for Springs, who had managed to stave off his history of injuries for most of his first two seasons here. Could be the kind of thing that lingers for a long time.

Springs's presence keeps team's honest and he has been a very effective blitzer in this scheme (particularly in '04); you can't just replace that with someone off the street. Rogers will have to step up big time, and for at least a few games, someone will have to emerge from a group of undistinguished veteran CBs on the roster.

My early guess for the one to emerge from the group? Christian Morton. He showed some decent stuff last season, has some experience in the system, and might be able to give them something for a few weeks. Ade Jimoh has been around a while, too, and fared surprisingly well when thrown in a few times last year, too, although special-teams play is his forte.

Newcomer Kenny Watson, who the Redskins signed to a veteran minimum contract this offseason when fellow free agent Jamar Fletcher balked at such an offer, had a horrible time of it Sunday in the preseason opener, and that was against lowly backup Cincy QB Anthony Wright, a former Raven who is still reviled in Baltimore for his repeatedly awful performances.

The Redskins clearly knew something was up with Springs when they dealt Taylor Jacobs to San Fran for Mike Rumph Monday night. Hey, getting anything for Jacobs was a surprise to me, given his unsuccessful tenure with the team and inevitable release, but Rumph has essentially been shelved by the 49ers for the last two years, the same 49ers who were the worst team in the NFL in that span. He hasn't done anything of note since 2003 for the love of Lombardi. Don't think you can immediate expect much from him.

Cornerback depth was already an issue to many before the start of camp. The defensive coaches, who have essentially pitched a perfect game since coming here in 2004, had no worries discarding Walt Harris in the offseason, and while Walt did indeed have a rough, rough time of it last season, he might not be a bad guy to have around right now.

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Linebacker Chris Clemons got cut this afternoon, a day after learning he'd be out 4-6 weeks with another knee tear. Skins brought in free agent Jeff Posey to replace him ...
My pal Camille Powell got this email, and she passed it along to me. So I pass it along to you. Seems there's someone out there aiming to take Portis's spot, a chap named Ronnie Riley. Maybe Vinny will give him a call. Here's the email: You contact Joe Gibbs and let him know you have a quality running back that can replace Clinton Portis. I been in Iraq for 11 months and have been training. I recently lost 40 lbs I am in the greatest shape of my life. I am currently 205 lbs and ready to put that thang on some linebackers. I placed fullback for Norfolk State and played at 240. ...

Had a mind-blowing experience on Rte. 7 this morning talking my daughter to her 18-month doctor's appointment. Road is pretty crowded, there's a BMW sedan next to us, and the driver keeps reaching beyond his steering wheel to the windshield. My wife noticed it first and asked what I though was going on. I saw a blotch of white with black at the top on the driver's side of his dashboard, and thought maybe the guy had dropped a McDonald's hot-fudge sundae, with the plastic top still on it, and was trying to grab it. Never mind that it was 9 am. This is fastfood nation after all. So we keep looking and it turns out this wacko has a small cat, I mean tiny, lodged in between the window and he is petting the heck out of it. Stranger still, we look in the back seat, and he has US Custom's Police outfit on a hanger. This guy is a cop and he's violating god knows how many traffic laws, much less what PETA would have to say about the situation.

Last chance for you guys to catch the Skins at practice today. They're on the field at 4:30. I'll let you know if anyone else gets carted off.

I positively love the blog. The fact that you're taking your own time to write it up, and not get paid is pretty amazing. You must love what you do, dude!

In any case, I HATE to correct you, but Kenny Watson is on the Bengals now. He's a running back that was here during the Spurrier Daze. Kenny Wright is the cornerback the 'Skins signed this offseason who stunk it up.

Trev, no need to apologize. I definitely screwed up my Kenny's. My bad, 100 percent. Was trying to get that thing posted as quickly as I good with the Springs news going down.
Not sure how to change that in the text of the blog itself - if any of our web people read this and can help a brother out, that would rock.
Okay, Gotta run to practice now.
Cheers.

Now that C. Portis is nursing his injury, would it be wise for the 'Skins to bring in available Stephen Davis? He's the kind of power runner similar to Riggo and Gerald Riggs that could complement and take some workload off of Portis. They both can act as insurance policy for the 'Skins during the season, if one should go down with injuries. The Eagles are inviting Davis for a try-out.